Samuel Carey Redd died and went to be with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, on September 23, 2023.

Born February 1, 1928, in Coeburn, Virginia to the late Samuel Minor Redd and Ethel Hurd Redd, Sam was the first of four children. He was the seventh generation of firstborn sons named Sam in the Redd family going back to 1729 in King & Queen County, VA.

Sam is survived by his loving wife of 71 years, Elizabeth Ann Poss Redd; and his children: Samuel Redd (Shirley), of Normal, IL, and Carey Redd (Suzy), of Rock Hill, SC. He was predeceased by his daughter, Allison Redd, of Jupiter, FL. Sam is also survived by his grandchildren: Lauren Redd, Taylor Hand, Melissa Redd, Samuel Carey Redd II (Liz), Tyler Shannon and great-grandchild Samuel James Redd.

Sam is survived by his brother David Redd. He was predeceased by his siblings: Margaret Ann Schaefer, and Patricia Bettendorf.

Sam was raised during his formative years in Coeburn, VA. His father was a civil engineer who surveyed land and excavated the earth to lay railroads and highways. Sam often told stories of summers he spent as a young boy exploring the wilderness and sleeping in tents with his father who oversaw work crews of heavy equipment operators and loggers in southwest Virginia. The family moved from Appalachia to Roanoke, VA. He was an avid athlete playing football, basketball, and baseball during his years in primary school and through high school. In his high school years, the family moved to an old farm in Falls Church, VA, where now stands a neighborhood on Redd Road and the West Falls Church Metro Station and rail yard. That once expansive and rural landscape provided ample hunting grounds, a passion he pursued throughout his adult life often accompanied by his younger son. They spent much time shivering, eating hard boiled eggs, and drinking coffee from a thermos. They saw very few deer.

After graduating from Fairfax High School in 1946, Sam went to college at what was then Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He was a member of the Cadet Corps and subsequently served two years on active duty in the US Army, where he trained Korean wartime recruits at Fort Benning GA, and served a one-year overseas tour in Korea. In 1952 he married Elizabeth Ann Poss. They moved to Syracuse, NY where he began his career as a mechanical engineer in the industrial application of air conditioning at Aerofin Corporation. Sam and Liz started their family in upstate New York, bearing three children. Sam was instrumental in relocating the Aerofin manufacturing facilities from Syracuse, NY to Lynchburg, VA in 1966. Sam and Liz's early days in Lynchburg provided many lifelong friendships. They would leave Lynchburg in 1969 and return in 1979.

Sam spent the latter half of his professional career as the president and sole principal of Energy Flow, Incorporated. He established the manufactory in 1975 with the help of former engineering associate, Laddy Goodwyn, and the friendship and belief in his ability by local banker, Leighton Dodd. Sam relentlessly pursued excellence and success in the manufacturing of custom heat-exchangers for the chemical process industries.

From its humble beginnings in an old factory building on Fort Avenue in Lynchburg to a newly constructed facility in Forest, VA, he finally relocated his business to Kingsport, TN in a strategic positioning with Tennessee Eastman. Sam was a believer in the power of positive thinking. Whenever his business faced a crossroads, a serendipitous solution always arrived just in time, be it through a new or old customer. He never gave up. He was always telling his family, "Don't be a quitter." Finally in 1998 at the age of 70 years he decided to retire and struck a lucrative deal, selling his business to his first employer Aerofin.

The family's return to Lynchburg in 1980 allowed Sam to attend every home game as a season ticket holder at Virginia Tech. He loved his Hokies. He especially enjoyed seeing them beat the University of Alabama at the Music City Bowl in 1998. He loved Hokie football so much, during football season he would buy the Roanoke Times and USA Today each day so he could read about Hokie football and track the Sagarin ratings. His casual clothes always bore some shade of orange or maroon, a proud homage to his alma mater.

Sam was a man who looked younger than his age, especially when he became a senior citizen - a term he detested. He said he always felt he was still a young man. He stayed physically active in his retirement years. Sam promoted the habit of daily aerobic activity and weight bearing exercise. He played golf at the Boonsboro Country Club and was a course volunteer every year for the Fox-Puss Invitational Amateur Golf Tournament through 2018 at the age of 90. After that final year he said he could no longer endure the weather, especially if it was windy and raining. In his retirement years Sam was an avid artist. He was an active member of senior art groups in both Lynchburg, VA and Bloomington, IL. His best medium was pastels. He was accomplished in portraiture, although his true love was landscapes. His portraits captured the exact likeness and vitality of his close friends and family. He gave his friends portraits of their loved ones. His home is filled with framed landscapes of old barns and bucolic scenes around Virginia's countryside and from other travels across the eastern United States. His artwork was his treasure.

Although Sam and Elizabeth had moved to Bloomington, IL in 2013 to be near their son Sam and his wife Shirley, they kept a small home on St. Paul's Drive. Lynchburg was their home away from home. They had an easy drive to VA Tech football games, enjoyed dinners at Boonsboro Country Club, and attended Sunday church service at Peakland Baptist Church. Sam was quietly religious, not boastful of his faith, but unwavering and seeking acts of service.

Sam is remembered for his generosity. He and Elizabeth funded the college and graduate educations of their children and grandchildren. He wanted his legacy in his family to be that he provided them with an education creating a gateway to fulfilling careers, entering the workforce debt free. His family is forever grateful.